Homemade Vegan Butter (Palm Oil-Free, Soy-Free)

Making your own vegan butter is easy. Making your own vegan butter is easy. Of course, that’s because all the hard work has been done by others who figured out all the science, like Mattie at www.veganbaking.net. All that’s left to do is create your own variation to make the butter you like best. When I set out to make my vegan butter, I knew two things: (1) it would be palm-oil free and (2) it would be soy-free. I ordered huge ice trays and bought organic raw coconut oil and raw sunflower lecithin. I already had guar gum and xanthan gum because I use them in gluten-free baking.

The only question was which milk to use. I don’t use soy milk because I wanted my butter to be soy-free. I normally drink unsweetened, 40 calorie almond milk but it’s a thin milk. I ended up making 2 batches of butter: one with the almond milk and one with a cashew puree. The results were close – they both looked like butter, they both tasted like butter, but the almond milk butter was oilier and had a looser texture. The cashew-based butter was creamier and had a more solid texture. It was the winner!

Of course, if you don’t need the butter to be soy-free and/or you need it to be nut-free and seed-free, you could use soy milk and soy lecithin in the recipe instead of the cashews and sunflower lecithin.

Now I have homemade vegan, palm-oil free butter in my freezer. Less tubs in the fridge will mean more room for veggies. And most importantly, it’s a such an easy thing to do that means so much for the animals. Because they need their home a whole lot more than we need butter.

Preparation

Have all your ingredients and the molds ready so you can work quickly. In a food processor, combine the cashews and water and mix until you have a smooth puree. The consistency should be like cream. (Note: I did not soak my cashews but only because I didn’t plan on making this in advance. If you know you are going to make this in advance, soak the cashews for a few hours). Pour the cashew puree into a bowl, add the apple cider vinegar and salt. Stir and set aside for about 10 minutes. It should thicken a bit.

Clean out the food processor. If your coconut oil is not at room temperature, you can heat it until it’s just melted and then let it cool to room temperature. I knew I was using the whole jar so I just left it out of the fridge until it was at room temperature.

Add the coconut oil, the canola oil, the cashew puree mixture, the sunflower lecithin and the guar gum to the food processor. Process for about 2 minutes until it is completely smooth. Pour the mixture into the mold and freeze it until it is solid, about an hour or so. You can use an ice cube mold for short sticks of butter or you can use a small container for a tub effect. When it is solid, carefully pop the butter out of the mold.

The recipe made 3 short sticks of butter. I wrapped each in plastic wrap and put them in the freezer where they should last for a year. When I want to use one, I will transfer it to the fridge in an airtight container. That’s it! We have butter! Enjoy!

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COOKBOOK DETAILS

When Rhea became vegan, there were no places in her neighborhood to eat so she had to learn to cook. That led to the creation of The "V" Word blog which focuses on vegan versions of favorite, familiar foods. Because if you can have the foods you love, the foods you crave, the foods you grew up with, all in a compassionate, cruelty-free way, why wouldn't you? Rhea is also a college professor specializing in child and forensic psychology. She shares her life with a rescued Westie mix named Benoni and a rescued husband named Tom. It is Rhea's hope that she can spread the "V" Word and compassion to improve the world.

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50 comments on “Homemade Vegan Butter (Palm Oil-Free, Soy-Free)”

Before becoming a vegan 3 years ago and when I started paying more attention to food, I was into using cultured European butter and this reminds me of that, a cultured butter. It is easy to make and tastes delicious and melts well over potatoes.

I recently learned about the devasting effects of palm oil and soybean oil. Unfortunately, for those that have been using "Earth Balance" vegan butter, I also just double checked and it included both of these ingredients. I am glad this recipe is up for me to try! I\'ll probably use olive oil instead of canola oil as canola oil isn\'t good for you.

Douglas d Eden my comment was directed at one particular comment saying " if it ain't dairy it ain't butter - try calling it a spread." I was in no way saying the butters I mentioned were in anyway a substitute for butter or vegan butter.